Experimental
by DBack47
Summary: A long overdue permanent storage for experimental one shots and multi-chapters. Current: Messages CHAPTER I I suppose that this is a cross roads between the future and past, torn between two directions, one towards the Ghost Zone and the other towards my own demise. Choosing is far from easy, and only made more difficult by the conflicting messages in my life.
1. Introduction Must read

How many mistakes can and cannot be made?

"Quite a few" Fright Knight said in his deep rumble. "Depends on what is expected of you, although sometimes, a wrong decision can cost you dearly"

Not even of your own choosing? I didn't want this. The Fright Knight shrugged. "Few beings choose their destiny, only a few truly achieve it. Most settle for something of lesser value and then become complacent. That is the determining between those who are great and those of the masses"

There's no shame in being either is there? The Fright Knight once again gave a quick response, his emotions inscrutable behind the supernatural gloom of his helmet. "No, of course not. There must always be a weighted few of persons that carry the responsibility of the masses, and the masses that must, often unequally, bear the consequences of the decisions made for them. It's an unfair balance that is chaotic and unwanted, but it exists and balance must be achieved. It matters not who it chooses, it merely matters what you do when you are chosen. But these are delaying foils of cross examining philosophy you are presenting to ward off the final decision, come come, what is you answer Phantom?"

I look up and glance at the dust coated ceiling light with disapprobation, then glance back down at the scratched table with uncertainty. I need 48 hours, can I have it? No, Fright Knight shakes his head. "It is the Observants, not I, who are so impatient in waiting. You are their second elected in this matter, and for obvious reasons. They fear you, as they always have, and are playing for a measure of control, even if it is at the cost of their own personal influence. Moreover, they themselves are losing their power over the ghost zone; they cannot safeguard it as it grows more unstable with each passing day that Pariah Dark is dead due to their impasse between them. A single moderator is required, and Clockwork, as he did the last time, declined. He was their first selection, regardless of their mutual enmity with each other, considering that he has already been the virtual conduit for the past few years, but he is adamant in his refusal. Now they turn to you, second best, a medium between two worlds and charge of the Time master, and soon to be the undisputed preeminent power house in the entire ghost zone, if you assume their demand."

And that's why I'm saying NO! I get up out of my chair in a sudden flash of anger, feeling a flush of chill in my hands. The rush of power is dangerously unsteady and I slam my eyes shut, struggling to cap the dangerous amount of ectoplasm leaking from my core. The last time I had a lapse in control, I set the chemistry room on fire, much to the bemusement of the lab instructor. I used to drop beakers by accident, now I ignite them…how people haven't noticed anything more unnatural, I think is a matter of denial of the surreal. I deny the surreal, I know that who I am and what I am is impossible, yet real.

Fright Knight is silent for a second, before he slowly stands up. "I thought that the future King of the Ghost Zone would be more wise creature. Someday…I'll be freed of my curse and I'll be King, not the damned lackey to brats like you. You are offered this chance at immortality, almost unlimited power and wealth, and all you can do is quibble over failure that binds you to this more base existence. Fool! When I return at Midnight tomorrow, you shall accept, decline, or prepare to best me in battle for I _will not stand this stupidity! _Go ahead, struggle to: get that miserable grade from your teachers, pine for that wench you once called your soul mate and slave at a dirty food establishment! What a waste! Most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone, stuck on some sentimentalities! Mark my words Phantom, you shall face the greatest assault on you and everything you value before tomorrow's sun has set than you ever have. Ghosts, demons, and all monsters in-between shall come to strike you down to claim the crown, and yet you still shall stay so fixed in so untenable a state of ambivalence. Fare thee well, _sire_!"

And with that, a wind and rattle shook the apartment so that the dishes rattle and the lights flicker, flame wraps around him and with a final flash, the Fright Knight vanishes. It was better for him to leave, I was getting thoroughly peeved with that guy anyway. Another minute and I would have thrown him back into the ghost zone myself personally, I could do it…I think. Maybe not in my own apartment, probably would have trashed the place, for the sixth time or something liked that. Damned ghosts…

My hands are cased in a steady glow of blue energy that wisps and flickering around my fingertips, bending the light around them in a strange way. I always assumed that my alternate, evil self was going to be much stronger than whatever I would become, but in fact, merging with Vlad's ghost half just capped whatever potential I still have going, although I would still say that Dark Dan was stronger in terms of brute force. Strange how my natural internal power turned an azure blue over time, although my basic ghost rays still are that classic neon green and my eye color remains the same. It probably has something to do with my versatility; first ice powers, followed by a bewildering array of abilities that nearly killed me on a daily basis throughout my senior year of high school and freshmen year of college. Worst was dimension shifting, which was pretty bad, although _fusing _matter was up there, almost destroyed the entire city of Milwaukee the first time I found out I could do that. Now it's just a life in the day of being me; nuts.

I think I'm going nuts. The letter on the table seems proof of that.

**Dear Mr. Fenton **

**The University of Wisconson-Milwaukee is sending you a strong warning that a further drop in your grades will result in your dismissal from the University. This is not something wanted by either the faculty or the administration, and we are glad to assist you in any way to improve your performance and correct your chronic absenteeism from class. Counseling is available and you can always talk to your professors about dropping a class to free up more time. Regardless, this is our final warning before you are asked to leave. **

**Sincerely **

**The Chancellor**

Well I would sure like to see myself explaining to the counselor or the _Chancellor _that I work for my gas bill and my rent, have to get back to Amity Park to make sure Spectra or Aragorn don't burn down the joint, and take regular "missions" from Clockwork on basis of being some sort of Ghost Zone mediator. Great. Caught between two worlds and feeling miserable between both of them, and here come the stupid Observants, demanding I become King and all.

Well Sure! Yeah! Just die and forego your human half for the rest of your life! Your immortal life and be a power-corrupted King forever, the next Pariah Dark 2.0 even worse. On the other hand, this! Expulsion!

I step out and throw on my jacket, baring the cold air. I need to think. It's dark outside, and the cold has sent even the rowdiest college students to their dorms or fraternities. Stepping down the hall to the open air stairway under a dead-moth infested sodium-vapor lamp, I hear loud music playing in the other rooms, or loud, raucous conversation, or silence; the noise of study.

There's a lot to think about. My bad grades, which although are nothing new are beginning to encroach on disaster. Getting a bad grade is one thing, getting a bad grade is worse. Guess my degree? Engineering; fastest track to get into the space program or something close enough, but hardest way to do it. I survived the first year by the skin of my teeth, but once calculus and physics got intermarried was when I began to give out; my mind does not hold onto numbers like it can hold onto facts. Wonderful, my dreams, going down the toilet with a long flush, I can practically hear it now.

There's more to it than that; that's a childhood dream going down the tubes, and those don't die easily. But then again, a lot of childish things have gone different ways since high school ended, or began-more like since my ghost half was created. Like…

"_Hi, it's Sam, I'm kinda rocking to KISS right now while studying an all nighter, that or I'm lying and I don't want to talk for whatever reason. Whatevers, just leave a message and I might think about calling you back, thanks!"_

Hey Sam, it's…guess who. Danny. You know, the guy that's really sorry and wants to talk? Besides, I know that this has to be, like the 5th message or something like that so…um. You're probably still pretty mad at me for the last conversation and what do I have to say? Not a whole lot, I know it's my fault…

I sigh

yeah so…if you ever want to talk again, or see me, I'm always waiting. Ciao.

I can't text her, she's blocking me, and I'm afraid she's sending my messages straight to a junk folder. Boy did I set her off, phew, it like the battle of Waterloo for Napolean, a total defeat for whatever we both had going. I had doubts about keeping the relationship going in college but I didn't think it would go down like the Hindenburg in a flaming inferno. Jeez…

_Hey Danny, it's Tucker. I would just usually text you, but I'll just leave you a message, it's more direct. So, sorry about not returning any of your calls, it's sort of hard when you and I are separated by 2 time zones, and we can never figure out our schedules and your…extra-curricular stuff aka ghost messarounds. It was better last year when we were roommates right! Well that's past. Anyway, I just wanted to check on you, we haven't talked in 3 weeks now. You should see my new girl friend…ow! _

_Dumbass! _

Danny smiled wryly as he heard a second person hit Tucker playfully.

_For the record Danny, Bess is a meanieface and I blame all my clumsiness on you, it rubbed off on me! Talk to yah soon old man"_

MESSAGE SAVED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO DELETE OLD MESSAGE?

CANCEL

Talk about old sentimentalities, that was the last I heard of the old Tucker, way back a month ago. Poor Tucker got into an accident with a Semi truck and spent hours trapped till they could pry open the car, he was lucky to be alive. Bess was luckier still, she passed in and out of consciousness that night and the legal battle continues to rage between Tucker's and her parents. He's different now; when the nurses let me talk to him, he's more quiet, subdued and often depressed, insecure and cloying, not at all the boundless center of energy that I knew him as. I have to visit him, it shouldn't be that hard…or maybe not, even I can't teleport that far out West. He must have a wicked story to tell about the accident and I mean wicked in a bad way.

Nothing stays the same does it? _Every Day _changes my life, just a little bit, but enough for me to realize that whatever I remember is merely memory, not reality. Sam's gone, Tucker's gone, I have new friends, study mates, girls I like and dislike, people I respect and disrespect. You thought you knew yourself, but looking back, you really don't, living in the moment is harder than you think, and before you know it, you've become a whole new person…scary.

The street is empty and silent and I balance on the curb, wobbling to and fro as I try to stay on the thin concrete between the sidewalk and the street, enjoying how the darkness is so total, mysterious and unknown. It matches my own life, and the way other people see it. I see a single flicker at the end of the street under the dim glow of an old street lamp.

My breathe is already condensing into unnaturally cold mist as I grimace and halt my lazy stroll, trying to identify that certain resonance from my ghost sense. Not a powerful ghost, very weak, but still strong enough to be persistent.

"_Beeeeware…"_ a errie voice creeps across the cracked asphalt towards me. Nothing can be yet seen.

Of what? I call out.

"_The revenge, the revenge is coming to haaaauunnnt you"_


	2. Experimental I

_Control is not might_

_Justice is sometimes not right _

_And in the darkness of your own mind, perception twists and you gain new sight. _

_At the sound of silence…_

_PROLOGUE_

* * *

**3 weeks prior**

The clock read 2:32 as Danny groggily fumbled with the device, squinting at the numbers with a bit of denial and annoyance as his head pounded, his body making clear its objections to the interruption of sleep.

"This early?" he muttered, before coughing, an icy mist forming on his breath and shaking him awake, shivers racing up and down his spine as some uncannily sense of direction and alarm racked his brain and focused his dulled senses. Shaking his head vigorously, his somewhat in-need-of haircut hair ending up in that perpetual state of utter chaos, he breathed deeply and looked towards the window. No moon tonight, which plunged the world into a darkness that was sure to make his hunt more challenging that night.

"All right, let's get this over with" Danny groveled and closed his eyes, crouching down as he prepared to literally spring forth. Even as he began to leap, mentally he activated that trigger, that small psychic connection that signaled a surge of unnatural energy that flowed awash over his body in a brilliant halo of light that flooded the room with a moment of pure illumination as Daniel Fenton; 15 year adolescent and nocturnal supernatural vigilante, altered his very existence and became a spirit of the night, on the prowl. Without hesitation, he dropped all connection with gravity and usual physics and took flight, traveling through the window itself as though it was a mirage and into the cold skies of mid-April over Amity Park.

_CRaCk! _A harsh blow to his forehead sent Phantom reeling and slamming into the side of his neighbor's house, before making a clumsy, 15 foot fall to the cement below where he collapsed into the pavement, losing momentary control of his tangibility and ending up literally 6 feet under with nothing but his head and a hand sticking out of the ground.

"Ha ha, and thus the final act of your pathetic life begins my young prey" a slightly robotic, malevolent and characteristically cruel voice was the only warning Danny had before a heavy blade sunk into the pavement exactly where his head had been, physically cracking the concrete and sinking a good several inches into the soft soil beneath the driveway. That would have been his head, had he not yelped and completed his partial decent into the soil.

"No where to run Whelp! This time, I am prepared to track and corner your every move" the muffled voice of Skulker, a seven foot, hulking and clanking robot with ghostly flaming hair and piercing glowing eyes that gave him a 'ghost-rider-esque' appearance adversary that was Phantom's possibly most deadly and persistent enemy.

Phantom wore a fierce scowl on his face as he descended further into the ground and into a wide drainage pipe. "7th night in a row and always right on time." He growled. "I hope you regret even considering hunting me tonight Skulker" and although he said this to himself, he did mean it…sincerely.

A moment later, Phantom's disembodied head rose from the pitted surface of a sidewalk, the rest of his form behind just beneath the surface. Green, toxic glowing eyes scanned his surroundings warily. "Where is he?" Phantom asked himself. Although his heart didn't pound (in fact it didn't beat at all when he was Phantom) there was nothing less nerve wracking than being unawares about where the next attack would come, but his unusual ghost sense, the same one that had awoken him and was much more acute than it had been in his earlier years, gave a sharp warning.

He rolled deftly out of the way as a massive bolt of charged plasma struck his position, leaving a smoking, red hot crater.

"Hold still you little runt!" Skulker roared, and he did indeed roared with a partial screech that would have left anyone of lesser wills dashing away in terror, but Phantom was a much more jaded and grim opponent that was not at all intimidated as Skulker fired once, twice, and three times with a heavy pistol, the shots whistling through the air, leaving phosphorescent trails of magenta ambient energy left over from the powerful plasma blasts.

Phantom used his speed to evade all three blasts, his joints stretching unnaturally as he seemed to bend and twist with two piercing eyes with a fury in them as he _moved_ almost in a blink of the eye, towards Skulker, who reached for a heavy, electric whip on his utility belt.

"Well that's new" he hissed cynically as the spectral robot activated a energy shield, forming a thin but potent wall of pale blue ray just inches away from Danny as he flew; blasted backwards to avoid colliding with the force field.

"Never stay predictable" Skulker said with a sadistic grin on his face. The whip snapped and struck upwards, moving faster than Phantom could possibly avoid.

The young spirit let out a cry of pain as the cord wrapped around him like a snake, clinging to his jump suit and injected thousands of volts, crackling and snapping with a lethal amount dose of ectoplasmic electricity.

"Eat your own advice Skulker" a new voice interjected as Phantom's duplicate sent a heavy punch into Skulker's head, but the whip was doing its job and stayed activated, as Phantom's concentration shattered and the duplicated lost form and dissolved away.

"Better try next time, because I'm in no mood for any sort of banter tonight" Skulker said in a low, dangerous voice as he recovered, staggering his feet and rubbing the fist shaped indentation on his face. The whip was still coiled lovingly around Phantom who let out a howl of pain, grinding his teeth as he attempted to dislodge the whip from his flesh, but the thing seemed to hook to his skin. Smoke was rising and Phantom could see his jumpsuit melting and broiling as it reached white hot temperatures.

"Time's up, should have come quietly." Skulker lifted a heavy boot and gave a strong kick, implanting the tremendous force into Phantom's chest.

He flew on mere momentum this time, making a wavering arc through the air as he tumbled a good 20 meters and smacked, head first, into a parked car.

Vision was blurry and swimming as Danny saw Skulker prowling forward at a quick sprint, covering the distance put between them in a second. Consciousness was threatening to release as Skulker came to a halt, used his boot to roll Phantom over and then clamp down with a bone crushing force upon his chest. Delirious eyes managed to make out a large, mechanical arm seize a large, but long knife from his belt and lift it.

_Wow that was fast…_Phantom thought as time seemed to slow, even as the knife began to whistle down towards Danny's vital spectral core. _Usually these fights last a good 10 minutes but I guess he's been getting better…huh, I usually am a bit more cautious than that, but he did ambush me after all and used that whip._

_Comme on! A lot of pain…gosh, gotta think clearly. Think, this can't be the end! Not yet. To fall victim to some demonic crazed ghost and leave Mom, Dad, Jazz and Tucker behind…and Sam…Sam!" _

A reserve of energy was Danny's salvation. Skulker's eyes narrowed as a hand flashed up and at the last moment, within just centimeters of gouging out the whelp's core, was stayed by a brute strength hidden within those wiry arms and deflected.

"GHaaah!" the whelp cried out as the knife sunk into his left bicep, deep, the green plasma of all ghosts flowing out. But Skulker was more concerned with the fact that the whelp's eyes glowed a steady white before his entire frame; his entire aura shifted into a palpable emerald glow that expanded, and seconds later, exploded.

The resounding blast echoed over the sleeping streets of Amity Park, rattling the windows of the downtown office buildings and shaking all other structures within a one kilometer radius, while a visible shockwave of green expanded in a growing ring that went out for miles before fading into the air.

The immediate neighborhood looked as though it had been singed by fire, cars flipped over and security alarms wailing. Far off, the sound of emergency sirens could be heard, crooning with a steady, approaching warning.

Skulker opened his eyes, but knew that for the most part, he was untouched. An automatic contingency system on board his hardware had activated a last ditch energy field, designed for these sort of violent blows. The shield was however weakened and the sheer might of the blast had sent him sliding backwards into a grounded stance some 3 meters, his feet having dragged two heavy ruts into the asphalt of the street.

_**Warning. Power level holding at 12%. Multiple systems damaged. **_An automated voice alerted from the main computer of his body. "Dammit" Skulker said begrudgingly. He looked up and peered at the flames of the destroyed car where the whelp had discharged his blast, Skulker's entire metallic body gleaming in the dancing light of fire.

For a moment, a thought of triumph raced through Skulker's mind, but it ended in a heap of disappointment as a dark shadow, weary and staggering, emerged from the inferno. Wreathed in the licking tongues of the blaze, Phantom came out, hand clenched over his injured arm and hair singed, but his eyes burned with a steady, resilient and belligerent glow.

"Come back for more have you?" Skulker asked mockingly.

Phantom only grimaced and lifted a shaky hand, letting ectoplasm pool in his palm, before throwing a rather weak plasma blast.

With a chuckle, Skulker batted off the attack with a quick wave of his arm. "So it comes down to this, fist for fist, will against will"

Without further adieu, he strode up and withdrew his knife again before swining at Danny's midsection. But the move was clumsy and Skulker was tiring, because Phantom blocked it with a quick flick of his wrist. Skulker twisted and swung downwards now, Phantom shifting to avoid the swing of the blade.

"Why do you hate me. What is it about tonight" Phantom growled as he parried another heavy blow before swinging out with his feet and with a grunt, tripping Skulker by his foot. The robot stumbled and just managed to deflect a blank-range plasma blast, even as he was reaching back and grabbing a grenade from his belt.

Phantom caught the thrown explosive and tossed it behind him, but the distraction was enough for Skulker to get to his feet and attempt a simple punch to his face.

"It's what I do" Skulker said simply, missing as Phantom leaned back and avoid the punch, kicking forward.

"That's not a good explanation!" he stumbled backwards, momentarily losing his balance while Skulker too tried to reestablish his equilibrium.

"Well it's the truth. You are excellent prey and"…the robot kicked and spun, following the kick with a heavy downwards chop from his knife "you have yet to fall to a worthy adversary, which makes you a fascinating challenge and rival. Thus I shall not rest till…"

Danny leaned to the side and ducked under, rolling to gain an advantage It awarded him with a mere second of surprise from Skulker, but that was enough to muster another plasma bolt, which struck Skulker in the face. It didn't even dent the thick armor, but it was enough to blind him.

"Till what?…honestly I think that you would be better off looking after some more promising prize rather than get…" Danny slammed a successful strike into the robot's midsection "consistently…" he punched the face "beaten by me"

_**Warning. Neural connections severed. System failure eminent**_. Skulker's suit powered down, the motor-joints slowing and sensors turning off, one by one. He lifted a final, jittering hand in defense, but Phantom forced the arm down, and with a burst of force, thrust his arm forward. He watched in surprise as Phantom sliced through his chest armor and reached in, seizing the computer core and wrenching it out; a sparking mass of wires and computer chips that gave a high pitched whine before dying out, small LED lights within the core fading and the suit finally collapsing; inert and lifeless.

"You have no idea" Skulker's voice was fading "You just don't understand how transparent it all is, the true reasons behind all of this"

* * *

**2 weeks prior**

It was the same fight over and over again, same old routine. Spectra, the Box Ghost, Kempler, Johnny 13, Ember, and the Fight Knight; it didn't matter.

Danny turned on his side as he tried to get back to sleep, but the thought was nagging him.

Everything almost like a show, day in and day out without end. Sometimes, his memory seemed to elude him and forget what had happened just a week ago, and totally obviate any remembrance of what had occurred a year previous. Had it been a year? Sometimes it felt more like three.

"_You don't understand how transparent it all is, the true reasons behind all of this" _Skulker's final words during one of those fights had somehow stuck with him and had steadily become an obsession. That had been 3 weeks ago, _3 weeks had passed_ since that fight with Skulker. They had fought since, but never with such ferocity, and more according to the same, formulaic fights that he was so used too, or was he?

The day had been a usual one, same old crap from Mr. Lancer, same old garbage bullying from Dash and company, same old laughs from Sam and Tucker at Nasty Burger, but at the end of the day, it all felt fresh.

"This isn't right" Danny muttered to himself. He turned over and looked towards his window. Night covered Amity Park like a blanket over a bed of hot coals, the city being lit up in the electric glory of the nocturnal life of bar patrons and grave yard shift workers. Somewhere among those buildings and street lamps, down empty streets where only the brave trod, Tucker and Sam slept soundly in their beds, lost in dreamland, disconnected, static, just like the whole world seemed to be.

Why? Why were the cocky final words of Skulker, a mocking statement made even as he was expiring, bothering him so much?

_Because they were true_

It was a scary thought, one that was gripping him a bit more every day, seizing his mind. He wasn't sure why, but he did know that bit by bit, something was changing, because everything else wasn't. He wasn't growing older, the town wasn't growing bigger, the world seemed to be in a snap shot, captured and set for him alone.

"Danny?"

Danny turned and noticed his mother in the door way, staring at him with a sort of strange gaze of suspicion and worry. "you alright?"

"yeah" he replied, sitting up in bed. "why, something wrong"

"no just checking. I always worry that some ghost is haunting you or something, sometimes you are just so peculiar"

"Well…" Danny inwardly chuckled to himself "you could say that"

_How can you not notice the wounds? How can you not notice Danny Phantom's resemblance to me? How come you never notice anything wrong? How come you never change? _

"good, sleep tight honey, I love you"

"I love you too Mom" Danny said with a smile.

He nestled back into the bed, about to return to his thinking when suddenly, his mind seemed to blank out and he _couldn't remember_ what he had been thinking about. Instead, he could only think about the irony of his life and how his parents had no idea about his true identity.

Sleep then seemed to come, fast a with a vengeance for being delayed by the thoughts, overcoming him and soon drowning him into a deep slumber.

By morning, he couldn't remember that either.

* * *

**1 week prior **

The thoughts were returning again, emerging during the moments of boredom, festering during the hours of lecture from Mr. Lancer.

"_You don't understand how transparent it all is, the true reasons behind all of this" _

"Now class, Shakespeare constructed the Globe in the year 1599 and rebuilt it in 1614 after a fire destroyed…"

"Dude, you paying attention?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah…no" Danny said as he returned his head to the desk, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the utter boredom that seemed palpable.

In those long hours, he continued to let the thought take hold, building and changing. It was true. His life seemed to be utterly static, unmoving and unchanging save the intensity of his ghost fights, which seemed to increase day by day. Besides his growing powers, he was always the same, the same freshmen in the same classes learning the same material from the same teacher. Sam said the same things, Tucker always had that same old PDA. The weather and world itself seemed to follow a pattern that was consistent and punctual. Time after time again, he found himself realizing that it was all…fake.

But then he would forget…

* * *

**5 minutes prior**

The clock read 2:32 as Danny examined the digital readout. He had awoken, inexplicably, but his mind was pounding, racing.

"_You don't understand how transparent it all is, the true reasons behind all of this" _

It was all phony.

_All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players_

It was all a lie.

And he was about to awaken, to cast out the shadows and discover the truth.

**Current **

**Event No. 223456**

**Category: Critical Error**

**Subject: Experiment 4449SPG1X**

**Event: **

**Neural hypnosis failing…**

**Obviation serum losing effect…subject assimilation and inoculation complete**

**Subject gaining consciousness…**

**Emergency anaesthetic administration initiating…**

**Hold…**

**Hold…**

**Hold…**

**Anaesthetic failure…**

**Subject active…**

**Warning, Subject active…**

Danny felt pain as a needle was withdrawn from his arm. He opened his eyes, feeling as though something dark had been lifted from his head and for the first time in seemingly ever, he _felt. _He could feel his eye muscles straining as they attempted to adjust to the light bathing him. He could hear something shifting. He could smell chemicals and disinfectant, perforating the air. He could see that he was in some sort of case, horizontally laid on the floor, the top made of thick glass.

Beyond the glass, he could see a person, and as his vision cleared…_Sam? _

It was Sam, but she was much older, in her late 20's perhaps. She also was…normal with none of the makeup, lipstick or eyeliner she usually wore, sporting a white lab coat with a ID card pinned to the front. Her expression was one of utter horror, and a bit of terror, her mouth agape, her eyes wide and entire stance in one of complete shock. She said one thing, which was muffled, but audible.

"It's awake!

* * *

**Author's Note: Disclaimed, written as an exercise in my limited creativity. Please review. Possible chapter 2 with proper inspiration. **


	3. Experimental II

_**What was...**_

* * *

Danny grasped the ghost portal rim and slid his hand down the octagonal, stainless steel frame, looking into the darkened and condemning interior.

"Well how cool is this!" Sam said as she examined the controls. She bounced around happily. "I can't believe you parent's did this!"

"Yeah I mean, this is the type of stuff they build at Axion Labs where my Dad works, look at this wiring down here" Tucker had set down his PDA, rather unusually, and was on his knees, examining the complex wires leading into the portal with a fascinated rapture."

"Well I'm not surprised, because it doesn't work"

"Not that your Mom and Dad tried all that hard…"

"Nah, they're upstairs looking at the blueprints right now, they'll be back down soon enough with a blowtorch to fix it, trust me" Danny chuckled. "so enjoy it while it isn't being scary or exploding"

Despite his sarcasm, Danny was feeling rather proud of the ghost portal, so called, as his two best friends examined it with a sort of fascination that was rare for anyone, but he had to agree, it was pretty cool. The big hole in the wall that his parents, with no regard for building code or public disturbance, had knocked out with a jackhammer they said they 'borrowed with permission' although he imagined that his Dad had very casually and impulsively swiped it from a construction site with a industrial air compressor to make it work. They had returned it, and it had been put to good use, because the project that both he and Jazz had considered nothing more than the ultimate expression of the mess that was called the basement laboratory, had actually come to fruition…and it actually looked like it might work, which was another fact that he was still trying to figure out. After seeing the long parade of his parent's other inventions; a thermos meant to catch ghosts, a ghost net, a ghost fishing line, a ghost translator and several other bizarre looking devices that were as big as his bedroom, the ghost portal looked cutting edge and smart; a orderly and precision built compartment with several large metal coils that radiated from the center and rotated to the sides of the interior, the walls smooth and polished, the floor being a mass of heavy wires.

"So what happened? I kinda' want to see it all scary like" Sam said with a rather impish look on his face. Tucker blanched, pushing up his glasses.

"Um Sam, remember the night of living food in Danny's kitchen? It wasn't fun and I went to the psychologist afterwards and nearly got diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, so how could you possibly want anything that Danny's parents make to be any more scary than it already is?" his voice rose to a pleading shrill before Sam gave Tucker a solid punch in the shoulder. Tucker winced and shut up, looking at his cynical friend resentfully.

"Your just a wussy that thinks his PDA is sentiment, come'on Danny, don't be like this guy"

"Hey!"

"Well…" Danny chuckled uneasily "he's got a good point there"

"I was implying something Danny" Sam said.

"What?"

"Try it…we could even get a good picture" she motioned at the camera that was slung around her neck; recently she had been fascinated with the subject of photography and the apparatus had not left her neck since then. "So…what are you waiting for?"

"Huh? Nothing I just…ah…having doubts that your idea is safe"

"see Sam, I've been telling you that men _are not bozos_ and we do have some common sense like…not stepping into interdimensional portals" Tucker nodded hopefully "now let's go up stairs and play a nice game of…"

"Well you two are not men, and are boys lacking a sense of opportunity because honestly, this is a chance for a memory! We have each other but memories are something that just slip through our fingers"

"Alright alright, just...what do you want me to do huh? Do cartwheels in there?" Danny was getting impatient. Sam could be demanding sometimes.

"No stupid, here…" she saw something in a box lying on the floor "wear this"

"WHAT!"

"Okay, now I'm with Sam, definitely wear that" Tucker now grinned, his eyes sparkling as he examined the dusty but reflective off-white jumpsuit that Sam had retrieved from the box. "you'll look like batman just without the muscle tone"

"Oh NO!"

"Oh yes Danny, come on, I dare you" Sam stepped forward, her face nothing short of deviously amused.

"I triple dawg dare you" Tucker added injury to insult.

"Good grief come on guys, seriously? What are you trying to do? Create blackmail?"

"Maybe" Tucker chuckled but Sam elbowed him. "Danny, for me, pleeease?"

"I don't even think I fit in that thing anymore guys, my parents got it for that family photo last year so Jazz and I would match our parents in their jumpsuits. We looked stupid then and stupid now!"

But Sam only looked at him with the most pleading expression she could muster. Privately, he found it alluring, but mentally dismissed those nascent feelings of attraction to his long time friend, even though he found her rather pretty with her Goth makeup and dark eyeliner. Then again, he was but a naïve 14 year old right?

_Danny Fenton was just 14…_

"Oh for Pete's sake, fine, but I will…" Danny tried to think of something definite but couldn't "do something bad if you even _think _about posting this on the internet"

"What?" Tucker looked up from his PDA, crestfallen "I was so looking forward to doing that"

"Tucker" Sam chided him "stop teasing. We promise Danny"

"Alright" Danny said resentfully as he took the jumpsuit and headed for the bathroom upstairs, not at all pleased with himself but not resentful enough that he wouldn't do it. Besides, what did he have to lose?

**5 minutes later **

He walked down the basement steps feeling nothing short of completely embarrassed, pretending that he didn't see Tucker doubling over and laughing heartily while Sam bit her lip. He gave a forced, fake smile and then huffed.

"Let's just get this over with, a stupid picture, what the heck"

"Don't forget the gloves and boots Danny" although outwardly Sam was trying to remain composed, it wasn't hard to see how flushed she was, and the tears building up in the corners of her eyes in her stifled laughter.

"You're next Tucker!" Danny grabbed the articles and shoved his breathless friend to the floor, scowling, but it was no good; Tucker was out for the count, wheezing as he tried to suppress the waves of humor.

"Oh jeez, I'm getting asthmatic here!"

Danny only rolled his eyes at Tucker's unabashed amusement. "So now what, you want me to make the Heisman pose for you?"

"Nah, just…I dunno, lean on the wall in there and grin. It's just a picture"

"Make it risqué Danny and then it really would be…"

"SHUT UP!"

He could only sigh as he completed donning the last of the ridiculous outfit and approached the ghost portal, sizing it up. Little did he know…

_When his parent's built a strange machine designed to view a world unseen…_

His last moments of mundane life were vivid to the point of crystallization, so blatantly real in his dreams that it seemed sometimes that they were purposely put there to cover up something deeper, something less innocent. He could still see as though it had been yesterday; the darkened laboratory with its steel paneled walls and shadowy ceiling, the only light being dim and dreamlike; being emitted from dozens of strange and wonderful (or terrifying) inventions that were strewn everywhere alongside nameless papers and half finished blueprints. He could recall Tucker's comical smile and worn red beret, standing shakily next to a smiling Sam with her varied outfit and short cut hair, slightly taller than both of them, saying "_alright Danny, whenever you're ready"_. Every step he took seemed to echo in his memory as he entered that suddenly forbidding portal, the darkness seeming to swallow him before he touched something as he groped in the murk, something not smooth and metal, but round and plastic.

And then a bright **FLASH **and a immeasurable, but not overwhelming amount of pervasive pain.

_When it didn't quite work his parent's just quit and then Danny took a look inside of it…_

_There was a flash and then everything changed, his molecules got all rearranged…_

* * *

_**What is...**_

* * *

Danny knew that it was all wrong. The memory was too alive, too real to be actually in his past. The sheer coincidence of it all, and the almost arbitrary fashion by which nothing had gone wrong, or how the pain was simply _too little_. This was…this was real. The mask on his face, misted with condensation and blowing some sort of vapor into his mouth that tasted like a bitter aerosol, cold and wet, was real; the feel of a plastic cocoon about him, warm and rigid, was also real. The sight of anxious figures, blurred behind a glass panel in front of him, was as vivid and confusing as his memories were artificial.

"_Danny?" _A loudspeaker spoke, unseen, but definitely recognizable. It was the voice of Sam Manson, but much more serious, and cautious than he recalled it ever being. _"I need you to stay focused, I cannot stress how vital it is that you do not get excited, we're getting you out of there" _

_Oh good and then tell me what the hell is going on! _Danny thought, feeling bewildered, annoyed, and utterly hapless all at the same time.

The sudden rush of emotion was a sudden wave, a building feeling of complete mental movement before…Danny charged…literally.

He saw in his peripherals, electric sparks running up and down his face and sparking into the mask and down the long tube that ran away from it. They weren't green, but neon blue and hot, bending and shifting like the biggest charge of static he had yet to see.

The loudspeaker spoke, but louder this time. _"Danny, oh gosh Danny, I told you too stay focused, do NOT get excited at all costs, just breathe normally and don't worry. Please, for my sake" _

Alarmed, Danny only felt slightly panicked as the plastic case surrounding him seemed to vibrate and hum, growing warmer drastically while at the same time glowing with a faint, phosphorescent sheen.

"_Danny!" _

And with that final, shrill plea, he closed his eyes and recalled his sister, saying good night to him. The humming stopped and the cackling of latent electricity died away, the heat seeming to drain off in as though being removed from the chamber and back within himself.

There was a second of silence before the loudspeaker clicked on again. _"Thank you." _Sam breathed a sigh of relief _"Now be patient, just wait, so long as you stay steady, you'll be in good shape, trust me" _

He could only nod, and wonder what in the world was occurring just outside the glass.

Tucker looked at the case nervously, intently staring at those two pinpoints of glow just behind the glass where Danny's eyes were.

"Did you contact Vlad, Sam? This isn't good, are you sure there's no way to put him back in sedation?"

Sam grimaced "Yes I did contact him and he's on his way his way down. And yes I am sure. It's something mental, something subconscious that's rejecting the implants. Naturally speaking the anesthetic would put him 6 feet under but you know Danny; you can't be surprised by anything"

"This isn't good Sam, not to state the obvious"

"And you think I'm taking this lightly?" she retorted "I'm more concerned about what we do next. It's only a matter of time before he's going to be wanting out and away from any needles. As it was…how much did he discharge Kwan?"

"several megawatts" Kwan said in his slight Asian accent, as he walked over from his computer terminal, shaking his head. "It's not nearly the amount he usually discharges, but it was much more concentrated. However, it could have been a lot worse and we've seen worse…I wonder what Dash will do when he finds out"

The three of them lapsed into silence at that unhappy thought. The trio of them had never been very trusting of Dash despite his good nature; the man was too connected with the government to be fully trustworthy despite the repeated promises of non-interference, but more simply, he represented the entire program's questionable status. None of them, not even the obliging Kwan, were at all comfortable with the entire program as a whole due to its disputed ethical and highly experimental nature, not to mention the possibilities of disaster that could result from failure.

Sam looked at her feet; just supermarket bought shoes, not the combat boots that she 'supposedly' wore. She looked at the room; it's thick bunker-like concrete walls and industrial lighting that cast a rather sickly pale light as they stood in a semi-circle , attending to various computers and terminals that were scattered throughout the space. For a second, she felt sick, and greatly uneasy about Danny. What would happen when he found out? That it had all been a simulated, that it had all been a trick? What real life was actually like?

A few awkward seconds of quietness passed before Tucker folded his arms and huffed. "Well let's hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Hopefully Vlad will be able to make a firm decision when he gets down here"

"And Jazz?" Kwan asked.

"Her too"

"Well let's just sit tight till…speak of the devil" Sam turned about and, relieved, watched as Vlad and Jazz entered the room, both looking a little less confident and a little more pale then they usually were. Vlad was particularly troubled, hunched over with his hands behind his back, a clear frown on his face. Jazz tried to belie coolness but was betrayed by her rather jittery steps and frazzled hair.

"So what's the scoop?" Jazz asked. Vlad went straight over to the case to inspect.

"He's awake. End of story"

"No explosions? No Discharge?"

"Minor discharge, but Sam kept him cool"

"Thank goodness" Jazz rubbed her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief, unveiling her true apprehension "I was worried one of you got hurt"

"It wasn't even bad" Kwan placed a hand on Jazz's shoulder and looked her directly in the eyes "but thanks for your concern"

"Thanks, jeez here I am a 25 year old with a PhD in psychology and I can't even figure out my own. I need a vacation"

"We all do, but…" Sam began, but Vlad interrupted.

"Attention, all personnel "

Vlad had a commanding voice, as he did in the simulation, that seemed to be more weighty due to his accent. Edward Lancer often wondered whether it was a high London or Manchester pronunciation, but either way, it seemed to capture their consideration with a certain air of elegance that at the moment, but seemed to be sorely out of place with the tense mood.

"Would somebody inform me just precisely Daniel's status"

"He's stable right now, vitals steady but he's clearly out of sedation" Sam piped up. Vlad nodded.

"That's clear, but did he fully refuse all contingencies?"

"Yeah, he's at the point of no return Vlad, trust me, I tried all the programs"

"Thank you Tucker. But the question is, what is our course of action? I personally vote that we just release him"

"You kidding? forget about it" a new voice interjected. Valerie strode into the room. "you release him and we have _no _protocol and no readings and _no safety_"

"Well then you put him back into sedation Val" Tucker said resentfully.

"That's not my point, I'm just thinking about when he gets out"

"And that's the problem isn't it, paranoia and fear overrule ethical procedure. He's a person…"

"_Would anyone tell me, what's going on!" _

And as if to reinforce Sam's statement, they all heard his muffled shout inside the case. There was a **SnAp **and a shower of sparks flew from the heavy electrical terminals connected to his confinement that made their hair collectively stand on end. None of them said a word and once again, silence ruled.

Vlad finally cleared spoke, calmly but firm. "All of you, out now and close the blast doors as you leave. I'm bringing him out"

"you crazy man"

"don't be a fool!"

"Think straight here Vlad"

A chorus of protests rang out but Vlad only lifted his hand and cast his eyes downwards. "Sam was correct that, ethically and for Daniel's sake, not to mention that it's probably the only viable option, we should release him. I'll talk to him personally. Now, please, leave"

Valerie, Kwan, Tucker, and Sam looked at Vlad with amazement, but stiffly turned and began to shuffle towards the exit. Tucker went to the large electrical box and pulled a series of switches. The hum of computers and their conjoining equipment throughout the room went idle, the humming of their ventilation fans stopped, screens went blank, lights dimmed. Tucker, with a granite look on his face, utterly grave, looked at Vlad a final time as he followed his colleagues.

"Take care of yourself Vlad, I'll see you on the other side"

Vlad nodded and watched as the heavy, foot thick steel blast door shut behind him, hitting the floor with a heavy boom that echoed through the building.

He turned around and faced the case , turning to the small number pad by the side, punching in a long and lengthy code, imputing his finger print on the scanner.

**Security lock: Over ridden. Extrication initiated. **

A number of clicks were heard as the various connector wires and tubes disconnected, before the case hissed as the pneumatic bonds were released. The heavy motors whirred as they rotated the case into a horizontal position.

Vlad hesitated for a second. There was nothing to fear, merely to be understood. He most likely wasn't the best candidate for this task, but was the one most prepared for it; after all, he had designed the simulation, planned the streets of the virtual Amity Park, built the Fentons, crafted the villains and programmed the bystanders, down to the last helpless child that Danny saved from burning buildings. But the jig was up and now it was down to a simple, face to face conversation. Arbitrary questions were still present in his mind; how would he react, what was their plan of action.

He reached over and unlatched the glass cover, and for the first time in 3 years, saw Daniel Fenton in the flesh.

Illuminated by LED lights that lined the sides of his bed, framed by the various needles that had circulated the sedation and hypnosis agents through his veins, wearing nothing but the clothes he had worn on the day he had died…and lived; jeans, worn shoes from a now nameless brand, and a frayed polo shirt with his college name on it. Daniel Fenton, 27 years old, bleared eye, confused yet stern, looked up at him, his mouth still covered by a transparent medical mask.

Vlad reached down and undid the straps withholding him and pulled the mask off his face, flopping through his long, uncut raven hair that had not been attended too since that fateful day when his life had changed to irrevocably.

"Welcome of the land of the living. Mister Fenton I presume?"

* * *

**AN: So review, please, I want to see what you think. Just stick with the program here, all will be explained with patience. **


	4. Dimensional I

**So Ladies and Gentlemen, being as "Experimental" is not one story but can be _anything _I am deviating from the original Experimental, which I hope to update sooner or later, but while you are waiting...**

* * *

****_Dimensional..._

* * *

He was space man Spiff! He was Spock the intrepid! He was Buzz Lightyear, to infinite and beyond! And he was also lost in the place where all of those characters might have felt somewhat at home: another strange dimension with dangerous things lurking around every corner and no way of return without some climactic battle that would nearly take his life!

Unfortunately, it wasn't at all a TV show and he wasn't as invulnerable as a TV main character that had a given guarantee of surviving. It was more like the show _Lost _where anyone could die just to create a cliff hanger. Fun. Very Fun. Lost in the Ghost Zone.

It was actually extraordinary: truly another dimension. Every natural law that he was familiar with back at home was very different: light was more like…ambient glow that was omnipresent, it wasn't really cold or warm, just chilling in a emotional way, and gravity was very much out of the picture, not to mention that sound didn't travel, it seemed to teleport: he could hear sounds from a distance as though he were standing right next to them; weird. It was disorienting at first, a place that could change on a dime, from emptiness, to strange, partially transparent ghostly doors, to storms, to enormous land masses and objects such as castles or Skulker's island (did NOT want to see that, even though he could find his way home from that place considering he was running away from it so often) And he was sure that it was because he was a _ghost _which was as much a baffling bizarreness in itself, was the only reason why he could even withstand the Zone for more than a few hours…and he had been here for nearly a day.

Shoot. A Day!

It's not like he hadn't done this before. This just happened to be the deepest into the ghost zone he had ever ventured, most of the time because he was angrily pursuing a ghost which had pissed him off. This time it had been, much to his shame, the _Box Ghost_. Somehow, the stupid guy was always one step ahead of him, blabbering about returning to his "mother" box and telling on him.

And all because he had decided to fill the Casper High football field with packing peanuts, the type that melts in the rain into goo, which it did, and Danny was made to clean during detention.

Yeah…not happy about doing that at All.

So he had tracked the Box Ghost down to at least getting an apology out of him, and now he was here, at the ends of this godforsaken place where he had no clear way back. Great.

He stopped pushing onwards and halted, looking about. The ghost zone shifted endlessly about him, building and dissipating in swirls and strange geometric shapes like a video of clouds in fast motion, along side rivers of ectoplasm that snaked their way through the vast vistas, twisting and widening before petering out into great deltas of glowing green. But it wasn't that that abruptly caught his eye, but the unusual behavior of the vast matter, and how it was congeal into concentrated points and turn, spinning into great vortexes that began to emanate a terrific quantity of light before blasting into a…

_Portal! _

Indeed, portals, opening and closing, forming and being spun apart, just up ahead.

He cautiously but curiously floated forth into this new phenomenon.

As he delved further into this new area, the portals increased in size and number, before it seemed that dozens of them were about him, casting a dancing effervescent emerald glow upon him almost as though he was in some great, cosmic disco club, although it was deathly silent.

It was only then that he realized the vastness of each portal: because they were at a distance. Trying to calculate depth and expanse within the ghost zone was like calculating Einstein's equation with nothing more than your fingers to count off and no prior knowledge of how to do so, because it was nearly impossible. Sight itself was a tricky thing in the Zone, things that seemed no more than a few meters away could be kilometers apart, and objects that seemed to be as removed as stars in outer space were as close as two magnets attracted to each other. Only when you were close enough could you really tell, and Danny saw that these portals, were beyond doubt, vast, each one the size of a football pitch, looking like the gigantic black holes that he had seen on space posters.

He suddenly felt rather nervous. This was new and perhaps, dangerous.

Thus he was startled when he saw something rocket out of one of them. A strange, black and silver object, No, not an object, a person.

Female, young, about his age, ghost. Yellow, sickly yellow eyes that pieced and promised: pain. Sharp canines that gave a particularly wolfish look that promised: terror. A spectral tale that tapered off into a strange mist with a cloak that promised: dangerous.

This demon of the unknown, flying at a breakneck speed, approached rapidly, and to announce her true presence, shouted, much to Danny's surprise.

"_You BASTARD!"_

* * *

She was mad. Very mad.

Someone had dared start a forest fire near Amtiy Park. Probably Combus, that hateful little fire demon, but she had seen, of all ghosts, Young Chaos, that despised teenager spirit that did nothing but cause trouble all day with that stupid cat on his shoulder, speeding away from the scene of the crime.

Now that was nothing short deserving of her ire to the tenth degree, and she didn't care how lost she was, she was going to find that demon and set a forest fire in his hair, a very hot one.

THERE he was! Dead ahead past this vortex.

"_You BASTARD! I am going to kick your…" _

There, dead ahead past the vortex, he wasn't. A look alike for sure, but distinctly different. About her age: 16, and a ghost, with steely jade eyes that promised: caution and severe repercussions if placed under duress. White hair that was alight with energy, dancing as though set aflame that promised: power. A strange white design on a jet black outfit with a thematic _D _that promised: determination.

This was new, but she didn't like it, it felt too cold and defensive to be friendly.

She snarled at him and elicited a response, a sharp ecto blast that slammed into her shoulder before she even was cognizant that he had done anything.

"That was a warning shot, keep back!" he said with a growl at the back of his rather deep voice. Her response was impulsive, several shots of black energy, hurtling towards him, although not as fast as his own lightning fast attack, just as potent, because she watched as the honed in on him.

Surprised, he attempted to dodge the missiles, dodging to no avail, being struck by a few, wincing, before throwing up a rapid shield. A couple years prior, the damage might have been catastrophic, but his stamina and powers had, thankfully, advanced considerably since then, giving him parity with even the strongest of ghosts.

"I am in no mood for someone get in my way!" His rival hollered back. She began to spin up a circlet near her head, a pulsing circle of dark energy, prepared to fire at him.

"Now look here miss, let's just discuss this over a nice cup of te…" but his word were cut off when she hurtled the entire circle, spinning, towards him. The circle grew in size and turned vertically, slowly closing in on his position.

He flashed a sudden flicker of his signature, and then, teleported past it. "Now let's be rationale here…"

But she, now more curious at this newcomer than anything, continued her assault, firing off several bands of flame that snaked towards his position. Surprised, he deflected them off with several smaller shields, nonplussed when they seemed to engulf the barriers and continue their path way. He winced as they singed him, but he managed to bear the brunt of the heat and counter them with a strange ray of cold blue that seemed to neutralize the licking tongues of fire.

He was getting closer. She now fired a broad blast that peppered away into a cloud of smaller ectoplasmic energy bolts that bounced violently off a mirror like plate of green force that he employed.

"Now wait, before we get violent, let's just talk about this!"

His pleading and ironic words did nothing but spook her. As violent as things _already _were, she decided to move in for the kill.

Zipping forth at lightning speed, she punched towards his face, gloved hand encased in a black energy. Danny lifted his own and caught the punch but hissed, grabbing his hand in pain as he reeled backwards.

"Fire huh?" Danny muttered as he cooled his now smoking glove with a douse of chill before quickly blocking and dodging a swipe and a strong kick that made his grit his teeth as it painfully impacted his arm.

He now countered with a double block-jab, swinging away another punch and striking near the collar bone, only to have her twist around, blunting his strike, spinning another kick towards his head.

Her boot, charged with energy, cleaved a lock of hair off his head as he just managed to duck.

"Alright, that's enough!" Danny said as his eyes flickered towards his now ruined hair, as messy as it already was and grabbed her next slice by the wrist. _I really hope this works _Danny sent up a silent plea as he mentally focused and attempting to employ that now ages old, random power that he had seldom used since: ghost stinger. He directed all available ice energy to his hand to dampen the tremendous heat that seemed to compose her aura.

Her yellow eyes widened before she shrieked, thousands of volts reverberating through her frame.

The two of them disengaged, both falling back to nurse their wounds.

"Jeez, I was just sparring and you come and nearly make me pass out!" she cried as she moaned a bit, rubbing her wrist tenderly. "Sheesh, what was that, electricity, and ice? Haven't met a ghost as versatile as you in a long time"

"Well you started it" Danny said resentfully. _Why does her voice sound familiar? _"Can't a ghost just…find his way home without getting battered? At least to that degree? I've been attacked all day by random ghosts but you were the worst"

"Okay…" she said belligerently "sorry, just was angry about Young Chaos, that's all"

"Who?"

"You know, Young Chaos, that fool with the cat on his shoulder? Oh what's the use, who are you anyway!"

Danny lifted his hands in defense "whoa, calm down there. Just ask nicely, if you are capable of it"

"I don't take well to manners, but alright, may I _please _know your name?" she said it mockingly and Danny frowned.

"How rude. Well it's Danny Phantom to you, thanks very much" he huffed, before charging his hands with his potent emerald power bolts. "Now back off, you ruined my hair and my clothes, I'm just trying to get somewhere"

"Sam Menace at your risk" she grinned toothily. "And don't you forget it. Heading somewhere? Don't get lost, or do you need me to take you by hand and show Little Boy Phantom the way home"

"Little Boy?" Danny asked, before he scowled "I know my way back to Amity Park, so leave me alone"

But he wasn't quite so put off as he should have been because he was noticing something funny. _Sam Menace? _Sounded like a close Parallel to _Sam Manson, _not to mention, that he began to notice how her hair was uncannily similar to Sam's own short hair cut, and was even tied into an identical pony tail. It didn't even stop there, she looked similar, even spoke in that trilling intonation, and smiled with the same…

"Sam?"

Sam wasn't really listening because Amity Park was **her **protectorate and **her **territory, and no deep Ghost Zone freak was about to declare his hang out. This was also dangerous, she recognized. Only ghosts with the power and the mind to use it declared territory, especially if that meant an _entire _city of humans.

She growled, and Danny's eyebrows went up. It was unnatural, but then again, he was getting more confused by the second.

"Sam?"

"Amity Park? My city? Are you daft? Haven't you heard that I made a assertion of territory years ago, and I have not tolerated rivals since. All trespassers into Amity Park she deal with me and only me before they even _consider _touching that territory."

It became clear to Danny, as she spoke as menacingly as possible, that this had to be some sort of trick, or bizarre circumstance because this 'Sam Menace' was too close to 'Sam Manson' in mannerisms and appearance to be mere coincidence. He cocked his head as he scrutinized her every detail, his eyes starting to widen.

What in the world?

"Were you LISTENING TO ME!" She was suddenly in front of him, eyes burnished a fierce golden shade that were like headlights, glaring into his face.

"Um…sure. I was just noticing something else" he said, a plan forming in his mind.

"Like what?"

"Your combat boots…you're still wearing them"

"Huh?" She glanced down to notice that she had unconsciously reformed her legs from her spectral tail, but it was too late to notice that he had just pulled the oldest 'oh look a distraction' trick in the book.

He blasted her with everything he had, all out. _I hope this works_ he pleaded as he **shouted **a small sized _wail _at her, blasted a high charged bolt from one hand and unleashed ice from his other, putting every ounce of concentration into focusing his energy into the attack.

She didn't even have the chance to yelp as she was impacted, but simply seemed to vanish.

Danny watched, amazed. A mist was all that was left, a dark, sinister fog that was all that remained of her, before it began to, just as fast as it had appeared, reform.

_Son of a…_ Sam thought as she reconstituted herself. 'Misting' as she called it, was a useful trick for avoiding too much damage, but also took time to execute and was usually an offensive attack to sneak up on enemies, not a defensive mechanism to prevent obliteration. A few precious seconds passed before her vision cleared up adequately.

_That's something I haven't learned yet _Danny wondered. However, it was a windfall for him because it gave him the advantage.

She didn't meet his first punch, nor his second one, but blasted a point blank shot to his abdomen by his third attempted strike and blocked the next kick, her mouth a thin line as she attempted to regain the initiative, Danny equally dead serious as he attempted to keep it.

The two of them danced for what seemed like hours, trading blows and trying to maneuver the opponent. The light from their blasts danced off the surrounding area, almost in tempo with the opening and closing portals, flickering like some strange, surreal disco ball that violently twisted and turned as the two of them used years of applied experience to fight each other to a temporary stale mate. Alas for Danny, he was strong, but she was quicker, and as he began to tire, she dodged a slower move and now delivered a chop to his hip, then grabbing his wrist and twisting even as she began to seize Phantom by his waist and twist him in a blindingly fast move that sent him flying.

"Nice try, but I'm not that weak" Sam managed to say, equally exerted as he was, before took his flailing arm, halted his momentum, before again throwing him to the side, towards one of the portals in the area.

He screeched before slowing himself, but unexpectedly, found the portal was suddenly acting like a gigantic whirlpool, sucking in all that was in proximity. He was struggling to stay buoyant as he dangled over an unsure fate.

"Nor am I forgiving" she said as she grasped his hand and held it.

"Sorry Sam, but…" he nearly shouted it in his sudden pain as fire encased Sam's vice grip. "nor am I as predictable…"

And the clone vanished away.

She didn't have the time to even turn, merely the time to cringe as the original Phantom whipped a disc shaped ecto-blast at her.

The pendulum had swung, and the battle had turned. She was the one dangling over fate, Danny staring down at her with a cold face.

"Rather stubborn aren't we Sam?" his hand slid down and gently wrapped around hers.

"Sure, you're just a bastard" she shot back, but she couldn't do much as she thrashed against the suction of the portal. "But…uh, could we talk this over?" she looked down anxiously at the portal beneath her.

"So my suspicions were confirmed" Danny said, gritting his teeth as the suction suddenly got stronger. She cried out a high pitched _**don't drop me! **_and closed her eyes.

"Whatever, just get me out of here!"

Despite her rather desperate situation, she looked up slowly with a strange face.

"you go to Casper High school, environmentalist, student council secretary for the sophomore class, vegetarian and PITA member"

"Why do you care!"

"Because I know who you are, I know…"

The portal seemed to flare, and like a volcanic eruption, grew in size and strength. A wind seemed to _**blow **_and both of them were fighting the current, and losing.

"SHUT UP!" Sam shouted "you're getting us both killed!"

"you're Sam Manson and I'm Daniel Fenton!"

A panic took hold and both of them had no more time to think about each other as they fought a final battle against the portal's pull. Sam misted and attempted to zip upwards, but to no avail, and Danny teleported, only to end back where he had started.

They both were washed away as the gateway engulfed them and swallowed them whole, before in a flash, winking out.

* * *

In the basement, Danny stood, thermos in hand as the lights flickered. The Ghost Portal was going at full blast, engaged at full power, draining power from the entire electrical grid as it _pulled_ and yanked...

Two?

Sam and another strange ghost were spit out of the vortex just as the power gave out the Portal burned out, the power box exploding in a shower of sparks and smoke as the lights went dark.

The only light came from the top of the basement stairs and the two spectral beings before him. One was familiar, Sam Menace, victim of the first portal activation and supernatural hybrid of humanity and the Ghost dimension, a halfa and also his girlfriend, Sam Manson. The other…

**FLASH! **

A white halo formed around the other, new person, circling around and revealing…

…

…

Danny's mouth fell agape as he stared at…Danny.

A second, purple halo flashed around Sam and revealed her usual, but rather exhausted Manson side. She took one look at the two Danny's, before, already spit out on the floor, groaned, fluttered and passed out.

The _other _Danny didn't even have the luxury of being awake that long, because he was soundly unconscious. Danny took a tentative step towards this strange duplicate, and leveled the Fenton Thermos squarely over his chest and pushed the button, watching in amazement as _himself _was pulled into a container smaller than a peanut butter jar.

All was silent, but his mind buzzed quickly, trying to decipher this new phenomenon. He wasn't sure, but he wondered for a moment, just what dimension the Ghost Portal was keyed into…

* * *

**Read and Review! It's the polite thing to do! **Nah, just kidding, only if you liked this experimental one shot.


	5. Wind of the Tempus I

Walker set down his pen and looked up, his attention finally captured by the two guards that stood before him with a most unusual ghost in their arms, limp and unconscious, a mop of shock white hair hanging down lifelessly from his head while his tattered rags-of clothing suggested something akin to dejected ambler without a home.

"Well…" he asked, impassive "who the hell's this?"

"Some punk down from the Mellows where we found him, odd kid…" a guard said in a dull drawl. The both of them pulled over a metal chair and flopped the unconscious ghost down. The second guard handcuffed him to the chair.

"So why's he here?" Walker asked, impatient, somewhat frightful in his gaze. tapping his pen on the record book. The guard looked up, apprehensive. All he could see in the darkness of the musty office was Walker's two burning green eyes and a white hat that was carelessly hung on his head.

"Uh…we wanted _you _to sentence the kid. He's a thrasher…" he hesitated "listen Warden sir, we brought em' in because he was brawling with Prince Youngblood, and…"

"Sent three of the other guys to the ward', damn near took the entire squad to bring the brat down" the other guard finally spoke. His partner made a motion to be silent, wincing, but Walker abruptly leaned forward, coming into the light of the single overhead lamp. "So you mean to tell me that it this punk is trouble for all of us and you can't handle him? What's ya'll names boys?"

The two of them stood at attention, the first guard shivering a bit. "R-rocky and…"

"Jack" the other finished. Walker nodded, before he stood up and strode over, his hulking figure, white pinstripe suit and all entered the dim illumination of the room, towering over Rocky and Jack, looking at them pointedly before kneeling down so that he was eyelevel with the ghost.

"You didn't get a name Rocky? Jack?"

"No sir…actually, kid had no papers, no ID, no nothing…just a spirit to fight like a bucking bronco out of…"

"Shut up." Walker snapped. He examined the kid closely now, noting that for a ghost, he smelled and looked remarkably human, with pale, ashen skin, a youthful face that seemed almost peaceful and pitiful in the shadows of the room, a ripped and battered T-shirt, torn bleached jeans, and a pair of crumbling shoes with the laces strewn apart.

_SLAP! _Walker slapped the kid with considerable force, the kid coughing and groaning. "Walk up son, you're in a heap of trouble"

"Wh-what's going on" he mumbled.

"What's going is that you are in my prison, my prisoner. My name's Walker and I am your jailer, judge, prosecutor, executioner, warden, director, enforcer and if need be, your executioner."

"You said executioner twice" the boy's eyes finally opened, looking at Walker askance; two glowing green irises staring back at him. Walker raised an eyebrow. If a ghost's strength was measured by the brightness of their eyes, than this ghost was going to be consternation to him. It wasn't every day that a ghost with this sort of potential was simply plopped down in front of him. Walker furrowed his brow.

"Favorite part of the job punk, In fact let me show and tell…I am going to be doing a favor for you….meet the fellas that put you in the clink, Rocky…" Walker reached over and grasped the guard by the shoulder and pulled him over. "and Jack" he did the same so that both guards were now facing the kid. The two of them looked anxious, a dreadful pit growing in their chests.

"Now these two guards, have been with me for many, many years but they had a bit of trouble getting you to sit down and be civil to them, right boys?"

"Y-yessir"

"So they have proved themselves below my standard!" Walker bellowed "and now I get to sentence a punishment for them"

The two guards gulped.

"my judgment is that…" Walker paused, letting the kid regain his senses and look up, fully alert. "is that these guys are no more use to me dead or disintegrated, because here in the ghost zone, it's a tough world…so, I release you boys from my employment"

The two guards looked at Walker and yelled, but it was too late to do anything more than make a motion to try to escape his grip. His hands glowed a bright white and the kid hissed and looked away as he felt scalding ecotoplasm splash across his face, steaming. He heard the grotesque sound of something akin to someone dropping a pot of thick oil.

When he opened his eyes a moment later, Walker was standing in front of him, a malicious grin on his face.

"Now punk, it's your turn, let's start with your name"

"Uhhh…" he thought fast "I think…D-danny" he couldn't remember much, it was all fuzzy.

"Last name?" Walker spoke threateningly.

'_Oh fudge' _Danny thought, trying to think something up on the spot. "Phantom." He spluttered "Danny Phantom"

"Mr. Phantom it is" Walked wiped off his hands and then put them behind his back, walking back to his desk, sitting down in his creaking chair and pulling out a thick book from a shelf behind him in the shadows. "so Mr. Phantom, age?"

"uh…" Danny couldn't remember that either. All he could remember was a bright, electrifying flash, a memory so painful that it made him cringe just thinking about it, and then entering a strange new world of green spirals and floating doors, before picking a fight with a flamboyant brat and then being captured by some strange guards. "fourteen…fourteen I think" it was the only number he could think up on the spot.

Walker stopped, and then looked up, scowling. "Don't bullshit me boy, just 14 years of age?"

"Uh…no, 14 and 100 I meant" Danny said nervously.

"That's more like it" Walker said, writing in his book. "Still just a child then, that should lighten your sentence"

"Well what did I do?" Danny asked, confused.

"You broke the rules punk!" Walker exclaimed. "You have two counts of murder for Rocky and Jack, one count of being in the public without proper papers, 3 counts of battery and 10 counts of assaults on my authorized guards, one count of imperial treason for attacking Prince Youngblood and one count of imperial trespass onto the King's private expanses, must I be more clear that you are in a heap of trouble?"

"What rules! I never knew about the rules!" Danny protested.

"We can do this all day punk, that's one count of disrespect to the warden" Walker grinned.

"But!"

"That's two"

"Fine" Danny scowled and lapsed back into silence. _'this is just stupid'_ he thought.

"That's three" Walked grinned fiercely, reading Danny's mind.

"Oh for the love of Pete" Danny cried out before returning to silence.

"I love this…that's five, anything more to say Mr. Phantom?"

Danny shook his head, glaring at Walker with a growing feeling of hatred. Walker just smiled and pulled out a huge book labeled **'My Rules' **

"This court shall now come to order, jury, you have heard Danny Phantom's crimes, what is your verdict?" he looked at the two puddles of ectoplasm where Rocky and Jack had once stood. "I'll take your silence as a GUILTY!" and Walker slammed his hand down on the desk definitively. Danny's mouth fell open in protest, but he said nothing.

"And that's 1000 years of jail time. Now punk" Walker said that with relish "you are in _my prison _now under my jurisdiction, welcome to hell"

Danny was flabberghasted, but bit his lip, trying to avoid a desperate look on his face. "Y-yes sir…but I won't even live that long"

"That's the spirit kid, now go get washed and get yourself a prison outfit…Guards!"

Two more guards stepped into the room, looking as uniform as the previous, emotionless save a nervous blink or two that betrayed their worry about being in the presence of the Warden. His white teeth flashed from the shadow where he sat. A key clattered from his desk to the floor in front of Danny "Take this one and set him up. He's ours now"

"Right…alright, on your feet" the first guard grabbed the key on the floor and unlocked Danny from the chair, relocking both of his hands together, roughly. The second guard stood by, eyeing him warily. Danny just looked back, glaring, trying to intimidate his captors.

"Make yourself at home punk, you're going to be here for a long…long time" Walker leaned back and put his hands behind his head, content as prisoner and guards shuffled out of his office.

LINE BREAK

The guards were professional, donning a steel cap with a transparent visor and a dully colored uniform that ended at a wispy, swishing green tail that brushed the floor as they escorted the handcuffed Danny down the dirty and dimly lit hallway, the glow from their luminescent emerald skin seeming to be the only illumination against the cinderblock walls, casting strange shadows that danced up and down the corridor, as if mocking him.

Danny, for his part, was simply and evenly bewildered. His head heart in pounding waves of pain, centering around every time he attempted to remember the simplest of details, such as, what was his real name? Danny Phantom sounded almost right, but not quite actual. Perhaps it had been _Danny McPharson, _or _Daniel Phillip _or something like that. 'Danny Phantom' had been the only name that he had been able to think up on the spot.

Come to think of it, that was far from the only detail that he felt that he should know, but somehow just didn't recall such as; where did he come from?

'_A meandering and nameless river running through a older place of brownstone houses and newer office buildings, highways crisscrossing the quaint streets with a entrance sign that said 'A Nice Place to Live!' _

Pain…more pain. Danny hissed as his head throbbed.

"Quiet, brat" one of the guards snapped, jostling him violently. He shut his mouth as the three of them rounded a turn and came to a window where another, identical guard stood, bored.

"New guy?" a bored attendant behind the counter grunted, pulling out a clipboard.

"Yep, he needs a number"

The attendant nodded and took out a pen, running down the clipboard and flipping through the various pages. "Alright, I think I can squeeze you in with…ah, here we are, next to prisoner 5497832 in Block C, cell 73. Your number is 6254377. Okay, now let's get your picture"

'_Welcome to Axion Laboratories, I am Vlad Masters, head CEO and proud sponser of project 4455732XV, also known as the 'Spectral Dimensional Tunneling' Machine. So, I would like to introduce the lovely Madeline Fenton, head researcher with her husband, Jack Fenton, as head engineer to introduce this _

"Up against the wall punk!" one guard barked. Danny hesitated, before walking over to the designated spot, in front of a stripped wall with height measurements marked on it. The guard behind the counter pulled out a board and a marker, writing **6254377 **on it before handing it to Danny, who reluctantly pulled it up.

A panel opened and a camera came out, manned by the attendant, who focused in. "Now smile for the camera and say 'cheese'

Danny just contorted his face into an ugly sneer before holding up the sign and staring into the lens of the black, featureless camera.

'_Come on Danny, Tucker, let me get a picture of the two of you in there' Tucker, a lanky, glasses wearing boy his age with a intelligent face but a good-humored laugh, backed away, shaking his head. 'no way Sam, I am not touching that machine even if you paid me'. Danny just shrugged. 'the portal didn't work in the first place, I'm sure it's okay to stand around' _

The camera flashed, leaving a slight white floating spot in Danny's eyes. He blinked furiously as it faded.

'_A Great big flash and everything changed…his molecules got rearranged' _

More pain. Danny tried to hide it, biting his lip. The attendant just grinned. "I think we know what's ahead, now strip, and you two, hand me his clothes…why don't you try white and black on for size?"

Danny just groaned as he saw the attendant unveil a black and white stripped shirt, pants, and cap, to complete his transformation from aimless, amnesic ghost to prisoner of a God-forsaken prison. Already incarcerated, and he couldn't even remember his name.


	6. Wind of the Tempus II

_Chapter 2: Wordless exposition of a nightmare_

SLAM! The door to cell Cell 73 of Cell Block C closed with a tremendous clang that made his ears hurt.

"Nice to see you in black and white punk!" the guard laughed in a grating, deprecating chuckle that grated on Danny's nerve, scrutinizing the white haired, wildly green eyed ghost wearing the itchy somewhat-too large prison outfit that made him look ridiculous. Danny stared at the shadowed floor and tried to ignore the jeers of the guard, but his eye began to twitch and a animalistic growl began to grow in his throat.

"Enjoy your stay, for…well…ever and forever more, you're the prison's slave now, freak" the ghost guard mocked, his hand still lingering on the cell door latch.

Not sure what seized him, but Danny lashed out.

The guard howled as Phantom grabbed his hands and twisted, hard, his face in a ferocious sneer. The guard yanked it back, groaning as the pain set in, the moan echoeing down the corridor.

"Brat!" his comrade cried out, but didn't do anything more than wave his faintly glowing baton, coming over to escort the wounded guard to the infirmiry. Danny felt enraged, this was nothing short of crap! No trial, a jackass of a warden, and now…this prison from hell? Howls and screams echoed through the poorly lit rows of cell, sending shivers up and down his spine. He squinted into the darkness of the other cells, trying to see what poor souls were incarcerated, but the flickering fluorescent lights lining the stained ceiling weren't up to the job.

"I know what'ya feel babypop" he looked up, startled.

"Excuse me?" he asked, more quietly, unsure of where the somewhat nasally but defnintely feminine voice had come from. He looked across the hall to the opposite ros of cells, trying to peer into the darkness.

A girl, perhaps slightly older than him, emerged, dressed identical, wearing a similar expression of a fierce scowl, accented by her flaming azure hair that flared from a high pony tail and unnaturally colored blue eyes.

Danny backed away. "I don't want trouble"

"Of course not, but you're here aren't you stupid?" the girl grinned predatorily. "Everyone who comes here is a troublemaker after all, and nobody leaves without making trouble, ya hear?"

"I hear" Danny said with a frown "but I'm not in a hurry to head either way, not that I could"

"That's what they all say" the girl shrugged. She leaned against the bars "I would be a bit more tense if I were you, this place is a place where fools like you come to perish"

"Oh I'm sure" Danny rolled his eyes. She was too smug to be serious, and he wasn't about to be intimidated by somebody like her anyway.

She laughed. "A wiseguy, a sophomore, nothing but a baby pop" her voice had a characteristic intonation that dulled her R's and broadened her a's

"Don't be intimidated, she's got that uppity, bully attitude from the East United States" another voice suddenly interrupted. "don't be scared of her, she's all bark and only soft bite"

"Shut your yap Poindexter" the girl snapped, eyes flashing as she looked over her shoulder back into the darkness. Her hair was electrified by a whisping energy that caught the unnaturally colored locks and whipped them about in a sudden fury that illuminated the cell fully.

Danny caught sight of a heavily transparent, non-corperal ghost cowering in the back of the girl's cell, looking like a scared kid from ages ago, wearing plaid suspenders, and a buttoned up shirt with too short sleeves. Add that to his ridiculously large glasses, buck teeth and poorly styled slicked back hair, and Danny could only think of a loser.

"I'll show you just how un-soft I can be, loser" the girl ground out. "Button your lip and keep quiet while the adults talk"

Danny only heard a quiet whine.

"Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, I just wanted to say that I'm Ember" She waved a hand in greeting. "and I'm sure that by the time one of us gets out of here, we're going to be just like family"

"Good grief" Danny gulped. There was something wild in those eyes of hers…made him apprehensive.

She chuckled. "Nervous babypop? Everybody's friendly about here, check out the neighborhood, there's Jonathon Creep, in the cell next to me, say hello"

Danny shrunk back when he saw nothing less than a legitament horror clown step into the light, a too-wide smile plastered on his painted face, sharp, dagger teeth flashing in the poor light.

"and his cell mate Wreath" Strange tentacles whipped out of the darkness, seeming to be able to easily reach over to C-73.

"On their left is, in cell C-52, are the ectopus twins" Ember's voice was a bit too gleeful as twin octopuses, appeareing decayed and deformed, screeched at him. Yikes.

"Maurader, I don't know what to call him and Snice the snake are in the next" Ember motioned towards the third cell down where Danny winced at the sight of a horribly injured zombie like ghost wave a hand, next to which a ghostly snake, a cobra to be precise, snarled, fangs dripping venom.

"Oh I could do this all day, but I think" Ember's eyes turned back to Danny "that you'll want to become most familiar with your room mate…Wulf? You back there?"

His blood ran cold as he heard a low, dangerous, guttural growl seem to reverberate through the walls of the compact cell.

"Oh there's a reason why most of the ghosts in C-73 have requested a room change" Ember's voice was sly to the point of cynicism.

Danny whipped around, just in time to feel his heart jump into his throat as twin paws with heavy and very sharp claws slash towards his neck.

He gasped, a garbled shriek of utter terror rising through his throat as he hung onto the claws which wrapped around his neck and lifted him off the floor, to the height at which his head came in contact with the slimy ceiling.

"Don't hurt him too much, just don't damage the face, he's a pretty one" Ember said, sitting down as though watching a movie of some sort.

"Would…be…nice…if you could…_GASP_…help!" Danny gurgled. _Think! _A set of green eyes glared out from the darkness, containing that unnerving glare that a wolf's eyes had in the dark. The squeeze tightened. The growl in creased, rising to a roar.

In those moments, his mind delicately balanced the decision to either fight or surrender. Milliseconds whipped by as his eyes squinted from both the pain and adrenaline of the situation. Fight, and he could be dead within moments. Surrender, and he might die anyway…

Something instinctive coiled through his chest and with a sudden rush of strength, Danny tensed.

The creature narrowed it's eyes, seeming to sense his sudden change in stance.

"Get BACK!" Danny _shouted, _some blast of green energy seeming to accompany his voice even as he swung his legs forward to kick at those hair arms with all his might. The creatures eyes opened wide before being thrown backways by the yell.

Danny dropped to the floor, gracefully fell into a sumersault and jumped to his feet, swinging a kick into the darkness, leaping forward, eyes glowing fiercely enough to finally unveil his attacker in the shadows. Leg hit muzzle and a whimper resulted.

He fell into a fightin stance. In the dim glow of his own glare, he sighted a monsterous canine in the rear of the cell, lifting his paws to his eyes, blinded by the abrupt change in lighting, before barreling forward.

'_Not good' _Danny lifted his arms to muffle the blow, wolf and Phantom slaming together, before he sidestepped to the side.

Their positions had now reversed, the wolf slamming into the bars with a horrid clang while he swung into the shadows.

"Oh, you just pissed him off now" Ember cried out in a sing song voice. "Ha ha! This is the most fun I've had all day!"

"Crap!" Danny lept upwards as the wolf, like lightning, changed directs and came back, fangs bared and claws extended. He heard the claws slice the air, just inches from where he had just dodged, before lodging themselves into the wall with a _CRUNCH. _

For a second, he realized that, somehow, he was suspended in mid air, levitating? However puzzled, he took advantage of his bird-eye position and swooped down, to land on the canine's broad back, wrapping his wiry arms around wolf's neck and pulling.

The wolf howled, his claws tearing from the wall and flailing, slicing dangerously close to where Danny was lodged. Danny only hissed, squeezing harder. "Maybe if we just…oomph…acted nicely, maybe we can…work…something out" But his words were lost as the wolf violently thrashed, crashing against the walls, turning about, trying to dislodge his unwanted jockey. Danny just squeezed harder, till he felt the wolf's windpipe. Eyes narrowing again, he continued to press inwards, till the bone began to crack.

"I don't know what's your problem, wulf, but your going to have bigger breathing problems if you don't stop thrashing in a second here"

Wolf seemed to hear words, and after what seemed to be an eternity of struggle, slowly clamed down, lowering into a still-crouch, a soft whine emenating from his constricted neck.

"That's a good boy" Danny whispered, privately relieved as he lossened his grip. "Thanks" but he remained on Wulf's back.

"Bonvolu, kompato" he lifted a white eyebrow when the canine actually spoke in a low voice, sounding like a refined growl.

"Say what, you speak?"

"Of course he speaks dimwit" Ember snapped. "Did you think that a animal gets put in prison?"

"La Fantomo batalas bone" Wulf said, in almost a pleading tone. "Li havas pli ol gajnis mian respekton, bonvolu, diru al li ekiri Ember"

"what is he saying?"

"He's asking you to get down" Ember said, somewhat more seriously than usual, looking at Danny warily. Wulf looked upwards at his rider, whining.

"No way, you kidding, not when this guy just practically bisects me without so much as a 'please' or 'hello'" Danny said with emphasis. "Besides, why the _hell _would you think that I would trust a ambusher like him for a second. He'll probably betray me or something"

"No you idiot, Wulf is one of the most trustworthy ghosts in this prison. He's a gentleman, If you would just get off his back and speak to him kindly"

"and why would you be someone to know?" Danny tightened his grip again, squeezing Wulf's furry neck.

"bonvolu, mi nur testas lin" Wulf begged. "Mi promesas en mia morto mi ne dolorigos vin nun"

"_Please, I was just teasing him, I promise on my death not to hurt him" _

Danny dropped his grip and slid of his back. "I understand him?" he asked, bewildered. "I don't even speak his language"

"You sure?" Ember asked, gripping the bars of her cell in interest. "Why don't you try"

Wulf turned about. For the first time, Danny got a good look at his cell mate. He was hulking, nearly as tall as the cell itself and just as wide, all muscle and fur, haunting green eyes with swiveling, pointed ears and a pointed snout lined with a wiked row of teeth, which matched his claws in sharpness and potential to cause damage, but there was something definitely intelligent in his eyes, almost sympathetic and sad, not at all animalistic, and yet wild at the same time.

Unsure of what Ember meant, Danny scrutinized Wulf, sizing him up. Wulf stared back, rubbing his neck tenderly. His ears flattened and he sat down, almost deferentially. Danny struggled for words.

"Do ... via nomo estas Wulf?" He slapped a hand over his mouth, mind racing. What had he just said? Ember cackled across the hall. "There you go, you're very talented"

"But, I don't know how to paroli Esperanto" This time it was Wulf's turn to give a heaving, growlish laugh. _"You think like a human, ghosts can communicate in more ways than just one dimension" _

"Say what?" the word 'human' resonated with him, although he had no idea what it meant. He halted and looked up at Wulf, who stood a good foot taller than him. Wulf stared back down, before sniffing the air.

"_Funny, you even smell somewhat human. Are you a new-one?" _he inquired. Ember scoffed and snorted. "Of course Wulf, even a thick-sculled _alis-anima _such as your-self should be able to see that this kid is just a baby-pop, fresh off the boat"

"Alis-Anima?" Danny asked.

"Oh gosh you are hopeless are you oh clueless one huh?" Ember deadpanned. "There are different species of ghosts, ya know, and Wulf is one of the more anciet type, derived from an animal spirit, although one of the most smart-ass ones you'll come across, isn't that right Wulf?"

Wulf nodded with a toothy grin. _"I am proud to be so intellectually advanced in contrast to my more…ah…base breatheren" _Ember rolled her eyes. "As I said, a cocky smart-ass that likes to use big words"

"Well then, what are you?" Danny directed the question at Ember.

"Isn't it obvious dunderhead? I'm a _Pyroken-Phasma_, like any other humanoid ghost around these parts. You're probably a _Phasma _of some sort unless you're like Maruader over there, a _Moula _spirit, and you look in a lot better a condition to be like him, what'd you think Wulf?"

Danny shivered as a hand was laid on his shoulder and Wulf seemed to lean down, sniffing closer. _"Can't tell, he's too young to figure that out yet, but he's slightly cold, I'm guessing a 'Gelus-Phasma' of sorts, but he has a lot of potential, he'll make an excellent addition to the Gang" _

"We should see Writes later on" Ember grinned again.

"Writes?" Danny asked.

"He's the prison's librarian, he'll give us a bit more information about you…"

"Wait on, hold on a second" Danny backed away from Wulf, a fierece frown on his face. "You act as though I trust you, let's get this straight, I don't trust either of you, and I don't think I like either of you, so what makes you think that we're going to be good friends"

"Because baby-pop, it's either us, or the rest of these fellas" Ember said gravely, motioning down the hall. Danny peered through bars, before hearing a tremendous scream that rattled his ears like a small earthquake of sorts, before he saw a flash out of one of the cells further aft of his, followed by a splattering that coated the proximit area in a mess of glowing, orange slime. He flinched back.

"Jeeze, what in the world's going on down there?"

"Looks like another prison fight, which usually ends in oblivion, but don't worry baby-pop, you're lucky you ended up with us. I'm just a loud-mouth, and Wulf here is civilized…most of time, so long as you don't piss him off, in which case I don't think you'll be as clever in giving him the slip"

Wulf gave a knowing smile. Danny just looked up the taller Wulf darkly, eyes glowing a fiercer green. "No double crossing" He wasn't about to leave his fate to these two strangers, but they did seem sincere to a reasonable point. After all, he didn't have much else that he could stand on besides his own two feet, and he knew that he was clueless. The Kingdom of Pariah Dark? Ghost Species? Writes? And what were humans anyway?

"_No promises stand in the Prison of Walker" _Wulf replied, his smile turning into a smirk. Danny gulped and shrunk back into the shadows of C-73.

**Additional Esperato Wulf translations, respectively. **

_Mercy, please _

_The Phantom fights well _

_He has more than earned my respect, please, tell him to get off Ember_

_Please, I was just testing him _

_I promise on my death not to hurt him. _

_**Thanks to Miss Frizzle and baby Cyclops for reviewing! **  
_


	7. Wind of the Tempus III

Chapter 3:_ A Society of Chaos_

_ His life was one of naïve foolishness, mistakes and stress, all wrapped into a packed 24 hour period and then repeated for several months in the torturous time of his life called high school. To cope, sometimes when he felt depressed, he imagined himself as a hardy adventurer, setting off on an arduous trek filled with dangers and pitfalls each time he stepped out of his sister's car when she dropped him off at the threshold of Casper High School. _

_ His only comrades were a girl named Sam Manson, not very attractive by the gauge of the other girls at the school but sympathetic and outspoken, and Tucker Foley, an intelligent although sometimes thick headed but always witty black teenager that was the closest of friends since the faintest of his memories. _

_ Every day they did battle, in the classrooms, passing notes to fight off the boredom of lectures from one bald and rather incompetent Vice Principle named Mr. Lancer, in the hallways, fleeing from the bullying of Dash Baxter the arrogant junior that was the quarterback and ultimate jackass of the school, and struggling against the reams of papers, tests and homework that left Tucker with A's, Sam with B's, and Danny with C's. _

_ It was an average life, actually. One that had lasted his entire freshmen year; an experience that Danny was more willing to forget. _

"Wake up brat!"

Danny jolted awake as something hit his head, hard. Bleary eyed, he noticed Wulf, who stood impassively, flanked by two guards, one of them menacingly wielding a baton.

"Recess, let's move"

"_You're late" _Wulf growled in Esperanto. _"Another 5 minutes and I would have let them take you to solitary confinement"_

"Late…late for what?" Danny asked, swinging out of his bunk.

"Recess, now let's go" one guard said harshly, before shoving Danny out into the corridor, followed by Wulf and his guard, who locked the bars behind him.

Danny walked forward, his too-long pants dragging on the floor as he walked forward without intent. That dream he had just had…it had been so intense, so clear…yet vague in its image and strange in its sequence. What was depressing was that it was just a dream, from a different, fictitious existence that was as intangible as everything about him was real.

This was his world now, fear at the horrific faces that he saw staring, or screaming at him in unearthly tones from the endless prison cells on each side of the long corridor. His world was one of flickering fluorescent lights, concrete floors, coldhearted guards, and echoes from a world of misery about him, one that he would know…for one thousand years.

A Thousand Years!

It was a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, a fact that he had not yet accepted as true.

_It was hard to imagine himself surviving the 4 years of highschool ahead, a rather daunting fact that his parents and teachers dismissed with a wave of their hand saying 'it goes so fast', 'you'll be out of here before you know it' _

_But it was a hard thing to accept in the morning as he struggled out of his sheets and into his school clothes, made his way down stairs, through his morning routine and into his sister's car, coming into sight of that ugly building off aged brick and smudged windows called school _

Nor was he ready to accept the sight of the inner courtyard of the prison as they rounded a corner, passed through some heavy guarded gates, and came into the dull light of the ghost zone to behold 'Recess'. Indeed, he thought his eyes were lying to him as he looked on in dazed alarm

It was several acres across, crisscrossed by high mesh wire fences, surrounded by severe looking buildings with thin windows looking like so many eyes watching condemningly upon the crowds of thousands of prisoners.

"Stop gaping and git a move on pal, move it!" the guard roughly shoved forward and down Wulf and he went, prodded by the guards, down some narrow steps to the solid ground below.

"Alright" the four of them halted "Since you are new trash, I will tell you the rules. First…"the guard paused, letting Danny raise a anxious eyebrow . The guard smiled dangerously "Have fun, because this is the only time you are going to be out of your cell all day. Two, any trouble and we're going to serve you up like a shish kabob for the Warden to deal with, and he don't like being bothered, and three, don't come whining for help, because you aren't getting any"

The guards then nodded, before unlocking the final gate and shoving them in.

Wulf leaned down to whisper in Danny's ear. _"_Bona Sorto. _Welcome to Recess. There is a hierarchy here, one that you should learn quickly."_

"Why?" Danny asked.

"_Because, everybody here is fair game" _Wulf spoke with a partially insane sort of glee, before he stepped in front of Danny, hunched down onto his haunches and glared across the pavement, staring down another ghost.

The ghost stared back with 6 sickly yellow eyes above a great open maw lined with sharp teeth that was constantly agape. 3 pairs of bent legs held up the heavy upper body and two enormous arms that had no hands, just enormous pincers.

Wulf gave a low growl as Danny stepped back. _Is he protecting me?_

A moment later, Wulf pounced. 500 pounds of muscle, fur, claws and bared teeth whipped forward, nothing more than a blur as the other ghost gave a shrill whistle.

Danny didn't see the resulting battle as he stepped away, only hearing the sounds of canine whimpers and savage grunts. He was more transfixed with his fellow inmates, and horrified. They were…fighting, or watching fights. It seemed as though it were a mere gigantic fight arena, dozens of ghosts duking it out across the courtyard surrounded by watchers.

He peered into one fight ring.

What looked like an Operating Room surgeon was wielding a scalpel, defending himself as another ghost; a gigantic millipede with multiple tendrils extending from a malformed head, snapping about like whips, slashing and trying to grab the more quick footed surgeon.

The surgeon tore right, trying to get behind the millipede, only to find his way blocked by several tendrils that snaked towards him. He slashed, shouting a fierce battle cry, slicing off several of the offending appendages, before jumping to avoid another set that tried attaching to his feet.

The two opponents circled each other.

"Niiiice isn't it" a lazed drawl of a voice spoke next to Danny.

"Excuse me?" he asked, turning to come face to face with a delinquent with bleached hair worn long and scraggly, sunken teal eyes , and a crooked smile that revealed rotten teeth.

"Said' that it's cool ain't it. Two dudes duking it out to the death…Joshua is going to win"

"Who?" the delinquent motioned towards the surgeon. Danny looked at the surgeon, and then back at the millipede. "You sure about that?"

"Brain over Brawn, works every time"

The millipede moved faster than a blink, surging forwards, tendrils enveloping the surgeon. For a moment, it seemed a lost cause for the surgeon, before out of thin air, several operating tools appeared and sliced outwards, slashing the tentacles to shreds before slicing them off in their entirety at the source; the head.

The millipede squealed as it wobbled backwards, fluids splashing from its neck, dribbling onto the floor as the surgeon, ever so casually, worked forth and pulled out of thin air, a long and sharp probe. The millipede thrashed as the surgeon made his way around the blind creature, seeming to carefully choose his place of attack.

Danny closed his eyes, looking at his shoes as the surgeon plunged the probe into the millipede, the blade turning black as it entered the flesh. The millipede let out a final, tortured screech, before freezing and then collapsing. The torso began to bubble, boiling away into a thick, viscous liquid that stank.

The surgeon was wearing a medical mask, hiding his mouth from view. It was when he stepped forward, using a gloved hand to slowly take off the small sheet of fabric from his face that Danny felt his stomach church and his legs feel week.

A black hole was all that was left of the surgeon's mouth, which began to…much to Danny's repulsion, explosively suck up the millipede's remains.

"Niiiiiice" the delinquent said with a sly smile, while Danny turned away, covering his mouth and coughing violently. It was almost too much to bear, much less see or smell, a odor of decay and acrid burning.

A ghost stepped forward from the surrounding ring, a rather mousy looking man that looked normal save several bullet holes that punctured his chest. "and the winner is Joshua the dissector!" he cried out in a surprisingly deep voice. The crowd roared in approval, and in response the surgeon bowed, before covering his face with mask again, wiping a bit of dribble from his chin.

Danny stumbled, rolled into a ball before hugging his legs and closing his eyes.

"This can't be real…this can't be real…this can't"

_A harsh laugh filled the hallway as Dash pushed him into the confines of his locker, painfully, before locking the door. Closterphobia was one thing that Danny didn't fear, but it wasn't fun realizing that there was no way out, no way to move or barely even breath. _

'_Stay in there Fentino, till you learn how to respect your superiors and peers, come on guys, let's ditch this loser' Dash's voice was oddly high pitched, but he was somehow the leader of Casper High School's most notorious bully gang. They laughed agreeably with Dash before Danny head their shoes pace away. _

'_Anyone…help' he said softly, but the bell had rung and the hallways were deserted. He was just going to have to wait for a teacher, and the embarrassment of being the school 'loser' for the day. _

A arm grasped his and yanked. "My my…we have a freshy here" the delinquent looked delighted as he examined Danny, pulling him to his feet despite his squirming. "Looks like you've seen horror in your death."

"Uhh…" Danny shakily breathed. "Lo-ok I…I don't even know you"

"Oh, you don't? What a shame. Not many ghosts don't know Johnny 13, and those that don't are sometimes…unlucky"

"Sure, nice to meet you" Danny said, more scared than sincere. Johnny just grinned till the smile seemed to divide his face from ear to ear

"Got a name…freshy?"

"D-Danny"

"Well Danny, since you don't seem to know…here in prison, the prison of Walker, it's a dog eat dog world, and don't expect this joint to be more mean or kind to one person as the next, it's just the way things spin, right?"

"Sure"

"And, I just happen to be a rather respected guy around these parts, yeah fellas?" a chorus of voices from the crowd murmured an agreement. "and respect, around here, is everything. Ya want to know why?"

"Okay"

"Because respect is a kind of love, and bro, when you've been doing time for years on end, you begin to wonder if there is even love out there, but in the end, it's all shit" Johnny waved a hand. "Just crap, all the garbage of the Ghost Zone that collects here and beats the snot out of each other, just people being jerks and jackasses, and it becomes so easy to forget that we're souls too, and we need something to live for, to have value for, a sort of love, and that's why everyone here needs respect…even me, a stud like me needs respect, and how do I get it?"

He stared intentionally cruelly at Danny and clutched him till it was painful. "by fighting. Just like everyone else here"

Danny's eyebrows furrowed together and eyes went wide as he realized that this wasn't illicit, but in fact, daily living for prisoners. He saw that there was nothing but fighting going on in the court yard, and that recess was just a thinly veiled synonym for fighting.

This was why…why Walker's prison was hell.

Johnny's fist clocked him hard, followed by a throat punch, sending Danny to the ground. He had a mere second to roll out of the way as Johnny whipped out a crude knife and buried it with exceptional strength.

It was all defensive from here. Danny might have been able to best Wulf a few hours back, but Johnny was quicker, less cumbersome than the heavier fighter, and Danny found himself yipping as he dodged several swipes of Johnny's knife.

The surrounding crowd approved with claps as Danny leapt into the air and did a flip, trying to evade Johnny, but it was too miscalculated, since Johnny slammed a kick into him half way through the jump.

"Tired Danny? I'm just getting warmed up" Johnny cracked his fists as he took a step forth. Danny groaned and staggered to his feet. "This…this isn't fair"

"Nothing is dude, but this is natural selection, you know? The weak shall die off, leaving the strong to survive"

With that, Johnny began to levitate, a soft breeze becoming a whirl wind around him. Out of the ground, Danny watched in unmasked terror as darkness seemed to seep from every crack and form a strange shadow, with sharp teeth growing from a wide mouth and evil, green eyes that focused in on him.

"Shadow" Johnny said as a statement. "Meet Shadow, my trump card and good friend. Now Danny, what happens in Walker's prison is that every ghost, at Recess, will fight at least one fight, and every fight is a fight to the death, or at least near death. Dude…without these fights, I can't tell ya' how many _more _ghosts would be locked up with us here. Call it…population control. Some ghosts, those guys, are lucky. They fight easy ghosts and gain enough experience enough to survive a bit longer, but just for you pal, I happen to be a high level fighter around here, and you just got unlucky enough to be my fix for today, if you get my drift bro, just no hard feelings right?"

Danny didn't say anything, just a grimace. He fell into a fighting stance, trying to quickly think up something to combat this grave threat.

"Ha, this shouldn't last long, Shadow, Go!" Johnny shouted.

Shadow was like a cloud, moving forward with a steady but inexorable glide that was unavoidable.

_Come on, think Danny, how did you deal with Wulf? That shout? Oh not good! _The shadow swamped him, enclosing like a tremendous swirl.

"Oh shoot! What th…" his words were drowned as he felt himself gripped fiercely and held up, tremendous pressure growing on his lungs and gagging his mouth, the shadow putting him in a great vice.

"Now now there, let's just be calm, I'll make this quick" Johnny, ever so casually, holding his knife like a pencil, sidling up to the restrained Danny like a artist would to a canvass.

"Nice meeting you" the words were spoken carefully, the knife seeming to gleam, it's ragged edge seeming to sharpen and grow in size. "But it's the end of the line kid" he stepped forward, slowly, haughtily. "Another one bites the dust…" he hummed the tune with an off-tone melody.

Danny could only make some gagging noises, struggling uselessly against the impossible strength of shadow, watching with frightened gaze as the knife came close.

_No No no no nonononono…_

'_NO!' Danny shouted as he looked at his test, eyeing the large F written on the top. 'No this isn't right! I…worked hard for a B, I can't fail this, my parents are going to freak!'_

_The classroom disregarded the despairing student, picking up their things and filing out of the classroom, Mr. Lancer seeming not to care that he had just sentenced Danny to an unhappy Christmas vacation. It was the end of the semester and with that final grade, there was just no way that Danny would satisfy his parents. His Grade Point Average was already a 2.8 and rapidly eroding. _

'_Aww Dammit, damn. Mr. Lancer, come on! Please! This isn't right…aw Jeez look at this thing, it's a disaster!' Danny lapsed into a frustrated series of curses and then a prolonged gripe. _

_Mr. Lancer, the overweight and conservatively dressed English teacher, looked at Danny funnily a few times, but simply kept writing in his grade book, not seeming to have any sort of empathy. Danny glared back, despising the man and his bald head, his reading bifocals and his calloused hand, down to the dull gold marriage ring on his index finger, ever so indifferently entering such damming grades, sealing his fate. _

_All worked up, he set his head on the desk, out of breath and dispirited. _

_The bell rang. At least he didn't have class till the end of lunch period. At least the sun shone, gleaming through the windows and casting the classroom in shades of bright yellow and a warm glow of a crisp but cold winter day outside. It only served to isolate him. _

_Mr. Lancer continued. After all, he had been a teacher for well over 10 years and was used to this sort of drama, but even he was not so jaded enough to neglect such despair. _

_After 5 minutes, he sighed and stood, slowly making his way over to Danny, placing a hand on his back and his other hand on his arm, slowly raising the boy to look up as he knelt so that he could see him at eyelevel. _

_Danny's eyes were a little red and his forehead scrunched into lines of worry, hair mussed in his stress, but just seeing Mr. Lancer's dry, unsympathetic stare was somehow calming. _

"_Daniel Fenton" his teacher began. 'let's be reasonable here, you're only making a fool of yourself by pouting this way, you remind me of a 6__th__ grader'_

'_but this…'_

'_no buts, you are the one who worked for this grade, you earned it or deserved a poor one if you studied at a minimum level. Now…if you had been _listening _there is a retake on this exam.'_

_Danny's face lit up. _

'_and it counts for next quarter, not this one.'_

_Silence. Danny was speechless as his worry seemed to drain from his face, replaced by a palpable amount of relief. _

'_A word of advice Daniel, when you're trouble, stay calm, and just think. Things are not always as bad as they appear…'_

Danny's eyes opened up and narrowed as the knife came within a foot's distance, a calm sort of pressure building within him, something powerful.

The crowd looked on in interest when in a flash, the tables were turned. Simultaneously, Danny's eyes glowed a blinding degree of green and blasted twin bolts of energy at the knife, dissolving it and blasting Johnny back, while a blast of light tore away at Shadow, disbanding him with a dying shriek that set hair on end.

Danny shot forward, literally flying to deliver his own punch, his fist glowing green, hitting Johnny in his chest just above his waist.

It was all that was needed, Johnny went sprawling. Danny followed the first punch by hitting Johnny on both sides of his head, and a final slice blow to his neck.

He stood, breathing hard, before standing up, looking about at the surrounding ghosts with feeling of victory, and aggressive defiance of their shocked gaze.

"come and get me" he spoke in a unusually deep voice, eyes glowing with a predatory-hunger for violence, hair whipping too and fro with energy.

But the crowd was more confused than shocked, their look turning to the sprawled Johnny 13. One man, a butcher by appearance, save his neck that was almost nearly severed clean through, seemed impatient. "Come come now governor" he spoke in a thick British accent. "Git on with it, finish em'!"

Danny turned and looked at Johnny, who was thoroughly disoriented. He looked back at the crowd, uncertain. _I'm supposed to do what? _

The butcher tapped his foot. "Kill him, go on!" the crowd murmured in agreement.

Danny knelt down next to Johnny, strangely eager to do _something _although he wasn't sure what. He lifted his hand, palm inwards, lowering it just above Johnny's neck, watching in partial fascination as he felt something cold well up through his fingers.

A jade, misty sort of energy encased his hand, licking the air like a flame of sorts.

"This…sucks" Johnny coughed and opened his eyes, looking at the hand. "Didn't even get to say goodbye to Kitty"

"I don't…I don't really want to do this" Danny whispered. "but I feel that I should"

"That's groovy dude, but means nothing" Johnny chuckled a bit. "You sure seem slow, I would have killed me if I was you a long time ago."

"Why?" Danny asked, his hand wavering, his fingers feeling numb.

Johnny was about to say something, but clamped his mouth shut and looked up into Danny's eyes.

The crowd grew restless.

"_This is STUPID, just kill the bastard!"_

"_Le ta takuar krijues e tij!"_

"_Co za strata czasu!"_

"_I'll do it if you don't!"_

Danny listened as the dull roar of the crowd grew to a feverous wail, screams and curses being shouted in a multitude of languages and voices.

He felt suddenly fearful. He couldn't kill another ghost…it just wasn't right, in some way, he felt. There had to be a way out.

Johnny 13 abruptly clasped Danny by the laurels of his prison uniform and clutched him. "Do it!"

"I…I can't"

"Why not!" he hissed.

"Listen…uh…if I spare you, can we be like…friends or something?"

Johnny 13 just about laughed but stifled it, just looking up incredulously. "Are you serious!?"

Danny gave a silent nod, lifting his hand and extinguishing the open flame, but Johnny's eyes were drawn elsewhere, to the Butcher, who was red faced, had strode over and was now standing, lifting a huge meat knife, poised to strike.

Danny let out a surprised gasp as the blade went _through _his upper shoulder, a copious amount of green and red blood splattering out, taking a single look at the knife, before the pain overwhelmed him.

He felt himself being thrust aside and the butcher wrenching the knife out of him, before darkness took him.

**Thank you to the prior 4 reviewers and the readers who Favorited or put this on story alert. **

**astro-.-luvr10 **

**Bluesky21543**

**baby Cyclopes**

ShadowedFang


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